Rongbuk Monastery

Located at the foot of Mt. Everest, about 8km away from Everest Base Camp and 3-4 hours drive from Shegar Town, Rongbuk Monastery is the highest monastery in the world. Nowadays, it is also used as a guesthouse for visitors who decide to climb the Mt. Everest.

It is a 5-storey buiding, but only 2 floors are in use now. In the wall of the main hall is the statues of Sakyamuni and Geru Rinpoche. In front of the monastery are there a white pagoda and a Mani Stone pile, which are often selected as the foreground to take photographs of Mt. Everest.

Highlights of Rongbuk Monastery

Views of Mt. Everest

When seen from Rongbuk Monastery, Mt. Everest appears like a lofty pyramid surrounded by mountains that touch the sky. If on a sunny day, with the thick freely moving clouds and fogs, it looks like as if a flag, with the mast of the peak was swinging, will shroud the peak, which is known as "Flag Cloud".

Tibetan Festivals

From April 15th of the Tibetan calendar, Saka Dawa Festival is held here and lasts for 3 days. It is celebrate the birth of Sakyamuni. During the days, many monks disguise themselves as Rabbis and dance one after another.

Another Tibetan festival is held on December 29th to placate wandering ghosts and monks wearing masks also perform this grand ceremony.

Rongbuk Glacier

Walking from Rongbuk Monastery towards EBC, you will see the famous Rongbuk Glacier, which is the largest among all the hundreds of glaciers formed around Mt. Everest.

Travel Tips

1. Permits: When visiting Everest Base Camp, foreign tourists must hold Tibet Tourism Bureau Permit, Aliens’ Travel Permit, Frontier Pass which should be entrusted to a Tibet local travel agency for application.
2. Rongbuk Monastery is on the way from Lhasa to Shigatse City, and 8km away from Mt. Everest Base Camp, so it is convenient to get there.
3. There is a hostel in Rongbuk with 100 beds, a dinning room and a store, where tourists and mountaineers may have cooked food and instant food, ever beer.
4. Take sunscreen, sunglasses and cap for protect yourself from UV radiation damages.
5. Take lip balm to avoid chapped lips, and drinking water to avoid dehydrate.
6. If you want to climb Mt. Everest, please plan your tour in the period between late April and early June, or early September and late October, among which less than 20 days are actually fine.